Despite his fantastic start to life at Nice, Mario Balotelli has missed out on a recall to Giampiero Ventura's Italy squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Macedonia.
Balotelli – without a cap since 2014 – has scored five goals in four appearances for Ligue 1 side Nice since leaving Liverpool on a free transfer.
But despite many believing that his sparkling form would earn him a recall, the former Manchester City, Inter and AC Milan forward, who went off at halftime in Nice's Europa League clash with Krasnodar on Thursday through illness, has not made the cut.